Experience shows that cancer therapies are improving and achieving increasingly higher cure rates or recurrent periods of remission, but in return, vital organs are damaged by cancer treatment.

To mitigate these risks, researchers and doctors are working to prevent, diagnose, and treat heart damage associated with cancer therapies.

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In this regard, Dr. Joerg Herrmann, cardiologist, founder and director of the Cardio-Oncology Clinic at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, points out that there are three fundamental points to consider to reduce risk factors.

Lifestyle-related factors

Researchers have identified that both cancer and cardiovascular disease share several lifestyle-related risk factors.

Measures such as quitting smoking, maintaining a healthy weight, controlling cholesterol, and engaging in regular physical activity are essential to reducing the risk of both conditions.

“The more components of a healthy lifestyle that are met, the better the health outlook will be for both heart health and cancer,” he notes. “The risks of two of the leading causes of death are reduced, and life expectancy is increased.”

He even admits that cancer and cardiovascular disease can, in fact, be risk factors for each other.

“We have come to understand that the relationship between cancer and heart disease works both ways,” explains Dr. Herrmann. “Cancer itself can affect the cardiovascular system, regardless of cancer therapies, and vice versa. Patients with heart failure or other cardiovascular diseases have a higher risk of developing cancer.”

Strategies During Cancer Treatment

There are multiple approaches to minimizing cardiac risk during cancer treatment, including:

Technological Innovations

Dr. Herrmann's research objectives include developing tools that can predict – before starting treatment – ??which patients are at high risk of heart damage associated with certain cancer therapies. This would facilitate shared decision-making between patients and their healthcare teams regarding the therapeutic approach.

In this context, artificial intelligence and wearable devices are emerging as promising tools in the detection and management of cardiac damage associated with cancer treatments.

The use of AI in electrocardiograms and devices that alert to changes in cardiac function are prominent examples of this evolution.

“We are interested in further advancing AI technologies and developing simulations that show how different therapies could affect a specific patient,” explains Dr. Herrmann.

Symptoms that indicate cardiac damage during treatments

Symptoms of cardiac damage during or after cancer treatment, known as cardiotoxicity, include extreme fatigue, shortness of breath, and palpitations. Other common signs are swelling in the legs or ankles, chest pain, and dizziness.

Main signs

Associated causes.

Treatments such as anthracyclines (doxorubicin), thoracic radiotherapy, or targeted therapies (trastuzumab) can damage the heart muscle, causing cardiomyopathy or arrhythmias. These effects can appear during treatment or years later, so cardiac monitoring is recommended.